Jamaica,Queens,N.Y….. The Playaz Sr. team went into Queens,New York and came home with the highly regarded IS8 “Chip” with a win over the New York Panthers 81-75! U.C.L.A. recruit Kyle Anderson, New Jersey’s highest regarded player and ranked #2 by Rivals scored 14 of his 22 points in the 2nd half including a 6 point run in the 3rd quarter to help the Playaz expand a three point halftime lead 37-34 into a 14 point lead 63-49 at the end of the 3rd! Anderson who was voted IS8 Player Of The Year for the second straight year and the M.V.P. of the “chip”game finished the contest with a triple double as he had 12 rebounds and 12 dimes to go with his point total! He got special help this year as Lithonia, Georgia’s Tony Parker the #33 ranked player by Rivals came up to give him the extra boost in the final games! Parker(far left with Anderson) made his presence felt early as he scored 11 at the half and finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots! The Panthers cut the lead down in to 6 in the 4th, but a layup from Parker and a dagger”triple” by old veteran Myles Davis put the Playaz up 11 and that proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Panthers! Davis finished with 17 points and Darrick Woods added 11! The Playaz win was a team effort as the contributions came from everyone! Jerome Frink, Chris Jones, Neville Fincher and DeAndre Noble all had a hand in the victory! The Panther’s were led by Miami commit Melvin Johnson with 23 points, including 5″triples” and Hofstra recruit Malik Nichols with 15! Johnson’s(sportsman award right) treys early kept the Panthers in the contest! This is now the Playaz Basketball Club’s 5th IS8 championship in the 15 years of existence! The Playaz Junior team played well also reaching the elite 8!

Bishop Loughlin H.S., Brooklyn,N.Y……….The Sharette Dixon Memorial Classic Boy’s All Star game was a star studded affair that featured an abundance of talent from the tri state area! The New York team out classed New Jersey in the contest 133-101! The event, given in honor of the late Sharette Dixon by the father of her three kids, Kimani Young who is a well known Director of the New Heights A.A.U. program is an event that recognizes athletes who have excelled academically as well as athletically! Christ The King’s Omar Calhoun(pictured left) scored 23 points and won the M.V.P. for the winners, while St. Anthony’s Kyle Anderson(pictured right) who scored 21 points was the M.V.P. for the losing New Jersey team! Their were many other players that shined in the fun fested game! Most notable was the play from New York’s Xaverian H.S. player Brian Bernardi who scored 20 points and New Jersey’s Hudson Catholic H.S.player Mike Young who finished with 15! The guard oriented game also had eye opening plays from the likes of New Jersey’s Kavon Stewart and Dallas Anglin and New York’s Isaiah Whiteheaad and Terrence Samuel! New York pulled away in the 2nd half by getting out on the break for numerous layups and dunks!

Eastside H.S., Paterson,N.J…… A contingency of Puerto Rico National Officials, headed by Director of Team Programs Fernando Olivero(3rd from left) gave area players an opportunity to become part of the 18u,16u and 15u with a tryout this evening at Eastside Highschool! Coach Al Maldonado, assistant coach at Passaic Highschool(far right) organized the event for the Puerto Rico Officials! Players that are selected would be participating with the National team for their upcoming FIBA International season! A player had to be born in Puerto Rico or have a parent or grandparent born there to be eligible! The players worked out for 2 hours and all gave great efforts during the practice! Hoop Journal witnessed the tryout and saw a few that were capable of continuing in their journey to make the roster! The two  players that stood out the most were Saddle River Day’s Dave Rosado and DePaul’s Joshua Marquez( both pictured left)! These two out of everyone else will more than likely continue their quest! Out of the younger players, Bergen Catholic’s Greg King shined the most! Other players who gave good efforts were DePaul’s Isaiah Morales and Bergen Catholic’s Taino Flores! The Puerto Rico officials said they would like to make this an annual event! They will be in Brooklyn, New York Friday at St. Francis College and Harlem, New York Saturday at Scan NY/El Faro Beacon Center to continue their tryouts with New York Players!